Rules of the Game (22 page)

Once you have both stories clearly written out, distill them to their major plot elements and make bullet points for each one. If, for example, you were describing
Star Wars
, the bullet points would be: Teenager living with aunt and uncle; buys two droids; discovers secret message; and so on. Unlike
Star Wars
, your stories should have only three to six bullet points.

Though you're going to practice reciting your entire story, all you need to memorize are the bullet points. This way, your delivery will seem less scripted, and you'll have more flexibility to expand and collapse the story, depending on your audience's interest level.

I have this theory about words. There's a thousand ways to say
“Pass the salt.” It could mean “Can I have some salt?”
Or it could mean “I love you.” It could mean
“I'm very annoyed with you.” Really, the list could go on and on.
Words are little bombs, and they have a lot of energy inside them
.
—
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN

It's time to master the telling of your story.

The best way to captivate a listener is to be passionate. Be excited about your life, intense about your experiences, and believe in every word you say. Each time you repeat the story, it should seem like you're telling it for the first time—with all the confusion or excitement or wonder you felt when first experiencing it.

Review the vocal exercises from Day 3, then recite your two stories into your audio recorder. Make sure you speak loudly, slowly, clearly, and dynamically. To further hook listeners, stress key words and insert pauses to build suspense or humor. Experiment with emphasizing different words and pausing in unexpected places to change the rhythm of the story.

Once you're comfortable with your recitation, find a place in the middle of each story to insert an opportunity for listeners to interact. This will help keep their attention. Most interaction points will involve asking listeners if they relate to an experience, have an opinion on the experience, or can jog your memory with a fact.

For example, if you're telling a story that takes place at a Chuck E. Cheese's pizza parlor, your interaction point can simply be: “Have you ever been there? Okay, so you know what I'm talking about.” If it takes place in an airport, you can ask: “It was kind of like that movie where Tom Hanks plays the guy stuck in an airport. What was it called?”

If you want to take your performance to the next level, practice casually pausing at the climax of the story to build suspense. You can take a sip of your drink, put a mint in your mouth, or, if you smoke, light a cigarette.

After you've made a successful recording of your stories, go back to the piece of paper or computer file where you originally wrote them and update
them. Add any interaction points, pauses, or other embellishments you came up with while working on your delivery.

You've reached the final step in preparing your stories.

Stand in front of a mirror or set up a video camera to film yourself.

Watch yourself recite the story.

The key to a good performance is being expressive. Facial animation, eye movements, hand gestures, body language, and energy level can all tell a story as powerfully as the words themselves.

Experiment with accentuating different thoughts and emotions in the story with specific movements. Try changing your gestures or tone of voice when you're quoting other people. And feel free to use any props within arm's reach—a cell phone, a straw, or another person.

However, be careful not to overdo it. The smaller and more subtle your gestures and affectations are, the more credible they'll be. Don't get overly hyper or spastic, and make sure you have the attention and interest of the group at all times, allowing them to contribute when they want to. Don't blitz them with unrelated stories back to back; that could push you over the line from conversational expert to conversational terrorist.

There's one final element of the performance that you can't practice in front of a mirror: the unpredictable. As anyone who's been onstage will tell you, no matter how much preparation you've done, everything changes once the spotlight is shining on you.

So when you're talking to a group, don't worry about getting every gesture and phrase right. Just make sure you hit the bullet points. And if people ask questions, interrupt you, or suddenly start telling their own related story, don't get flustered. This is a good thing: It means they're paying attention.

If the conversation veers off course, don't insist on finishing your story unless your listeners ask what happened next. You can always keep the conclusion on tap for later in the evening to fill in an awkward conversational lull. Don't forget that the purpose of the story is not to get to the end, but to further display your magnetic personality.

On the other hand, don't tolerate rude behavior. Comedians deal with hecklers all the time. Have a few lines on tap for troubleshooting. A friend of
mine, for example, jokes, “The show's over here,” whenever someone gets distracted.

Use your two stories—with interaction points—at least twice in conversation today. You don't have to tell the same person both stories; just make sure you use each story at least twice over the course of the day.

It doesn't matter whether you tell them to a woman you're interested in, a coworker, a friend, a parent, a stranger, a sibling, or a telemarketer, as long as you tell them.

Feel free to improvise. As you tell the stories, you may insert new details, jokes, and interaction points in the moment. After each successful recitation, return to your master story file and note anything you want to add, change, or remove to improve the telling.

If either of the stories doesn't hold your listeners' attention, replace it with another story from your list. If the new one doesn't work either, ask someone who was there at the time to give you feedback on your delivery or tell you his or her version of the events. If both stories get great reactions, start crafting new ones.

And congratulate yourself. Storytelling is one of civilization's oldest arts, and you're now officially part of that tradition.

Turn to your Day 13 Briefing. Tear out the calendar page or make a photocopy. If you don't want to remove the page and don't have access to a photocopier, there's a copy available for you to print at www.stylelife.com/challenge.

Head to a bookstore, preferably one with a café or sitting area. Bring the Stylelife calendar page, something to write with, and your journal, if you've been keeping one.

Get comfortable. You're going to perform the rest of today's tasks at the bookstore.

Pick up a copy of a local events guide. This can be a free weekly newspaper, a magazine-style going-out guide, or a daily paper. You may also want to grab a local Zagat guide to restaurants or nightlife, or even a travel guidebook that includes local attractions. Since you won't be leaving the bookstore with these, you don't need to pay for them.

Pick up the current issue of
Cosmopolitan
magazine.

Sit somewhere comfortable in the store, like the café. Whip out your Stylelife calendar, and look through the listings, reviews, and recommendations in the paper or reference material you picked up.

Select an interesting event, restaurant, concert, gallery opening, reading, flea market, or other activity for each day of the week. Write the information for each event in the left-hand column of the calendar. The simpler and cheaper the activity, the better. Free is good too. Make sure it's something you are able to attend—not a concert that's sold out or a restaurant that's out of your price range.

In the larger column on the right side of the calendar, write one or two compelling sentences convincing someone why he or she should go to each event.

Read the issue of
Cosmopolitan
front to back.

First, note that women are just as desperate as men to get a date, keep a mate, and avoid rejection. Next, find an interesting topic of conversation inspired by an article, column, letter, or advertisement.

Once you choose a topic, comment on it to a woman seated nearby or wandering past. (If she's walking, speak to her while she's still coming toward you—if you see her back, you're generally too late.) Show her the story in the magazine, and tell her your reaction to it or ask a question about female behavior based on it.

If she responds favorably, then congratulate yourself. You've just generated your own spontaneous routine. If she doesn't, keep reading and find another interesting topic. Repeat with a different woman.

If she happens to ask why you have a copy of
Cosmopolitan
, tell her the truth: Someone recommended reading it to learn more about women.

There's no need to continue the conversation afterward. But if she's enjoying the interaction, feel free to proceed by using one of your openers, personal stories, or disqualifiers. Your mission is complete once you've talked about the magazine with three different women.

When you return home, add any
Cosmopolitan
routine you successfully used to the stories list you started yesterday.

When you learned openers, one of the keys was to give a time constraint by saying you're going to leave shortly.

Your goal today is to be so cool and interesting that she doesn't want you to leave. The quickest way to reach this goal—the hook point—is to demonstrate value. After all, she has the possibility of meeting any number of guys that day. Why you?